Open Space Acquisitions and Management Opportunities in the City of Atlanta and Adjacent Jurisdictions

The great cities of the world are distinguished by their public parks. The urban fabric of New York, Barcelona, Berlin, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Sydney, and Shanghai are all woven around great parks. Yet, with all of Atlanta's outstanding achievements, the City and the region have a notably undistinguished park system. In a study conducted by the Trust for Public Land and the Urban Land Institute, Atlanta ranks near the bottom of the nation's largest 25 cities in acreage of parkland per capita with 7.3 acres for every 1,000 residents. Compare that to Austin, Texas' 39 acres per 1,000 residents or Oklahoma City's 43 acres per 1,000 residents and it becomes clear that something is amiss in metro Atlanta.This study identifies the obstacles to acquiring and maintaining open and green spaces in the metro Atlanta region. Addressing open space shortages in metro Atlanta is a sizable task. This study could be considered the first step in a larger process. Time spent researching the various obstacles and opportunities regarding open space acquisition raised many questions that are beyond the scope of this project. A second phase might test the recommendations made in this phase by working with local officials on a few select projects, and begin to identify critical pieces of property in metro Atlanta that must be protected from development. A detailed inventory of significant open space and natural resources in the metro area that includes the existing inventory of land inside of Interstate 285 should be considered either as a separate study or included in this recommended second phase

On the Design of Campus Parking Systems with QoS guarantees

Parking spaces are resources that can be pooled together and shared, especially when there are complementary day-time and night-time users. We answer two design questions. First, given a quality of service requirement, how many spaces should be set aside as contingency during day-time for night-time users? Next, how can we replace the first-come-first-served access method by one that aims at optimal efficiency while keeping user preferences private

Planning and Design Strategies for Sustainable Urban Development

In order to create high impact low-carbon architecture it is necessary to address issues at the urban scale. This paper reviews methods adopted in the UK, Hong Kong and America and develops a series of themes that should be incorporated in modern city development strategies to produce green and sustainable outcomes. These are concerned with: planning policies and building regulations; neighborhood and site planning; and building design. Underlying themes which must be incorporated are connected to: building façade, systems design and operation; energy demand and supply; transportation systems; water supply and use; and wastes/pollution issues. To achieve success a number of support mechanisms are needed including strategic and infrastructure development, implementation of assessment frameworks, and the distribution of information and knowledge to stakeholders. The themes are compared to recent developments in the city of Kunming and proposals for future applications are explored

Bay Area Smart Growth Scorecard

The Bay Area Smart Growth Scorecard is a landmark assessment of the planning policies of all 110 cities and counties of the San Francisco Bay Area.Although a city's current development is apparent to anyone who visits it, the policies that guide a city's future development are not so obvious. The Smart Growth Scorecard provides the first view into these policies and the first comparison among them.The Smart Growth Scorecard evaluated 101 cities in seven policy areas:preventing sprawl; making sure parks are nearby; creating homes people can afford; encouraging a mix of uses; encouraging density in the right places; requiring less land for parking; defining standards for good development. On average, Bay Area cities scored 34% (of a possible 100%), meaning cities are doing only a third of what they could be to achieve smart growth.The Smart Growth Scorecard evaluated eight counties (San Francisco is treated as a city) in five policy areas:managing growth; permanently protecting open space; preserving agricultural land; conserving natural resources; and offering transportation choices. On average, Bay Area counties scored 51%.The scores are low overall. But in every policy area, at least one city or county is doing well, whether it is a city that is encouraging walkable neighborhoods, or a county that is preserving its agricultural land. The Association of Bay Area Governments estimates that Bay Area will have one million additional residents by 2020; the Smart Growth Scorecard evaluates how well all the region's jurisdictions are planning for that growth, and how they can do better

Policy-based management for body-sensor networks

Accepted versio

St. Croix Valley Community Foundation - 2007 Annual Report

Contains message from the board chair and the president, financial summary, program information, fund information, grantees list, donors list, and list of current and former board members

Community Conservation Assistance

The Community Conservation Assistance Project had the following goal and objectives: Goal: Sustain and protect open space lands identified by communities and land trusts as critical to water quality and biodiversity through voluntary land conservation. Objectives: 1. With the SPNHF and other partners, establish a seacoast office for the Center for Land Conservation Assistance. 2. Provide education to various audiences in the seacoast region. 3. Create a library of relevant materials 4. Develop and compile publications 5. Establish with the SPNHF and other partners and participate in the first annual NH Land Conservation Conference 6. Evaluate program effectiveness 7. Coordinate town projects associated with the Natural Outreach Coalition

The Automobile at Rest: Toward Better Parking Policies in the Delaware Valley

The Automobile at Rest: Toward Better Parking Policies in the Delaware Valley presents an overview of parking policies and requirements in the Delaware Valley region, along with strategies for managing and designing parking better. Each of the region's 353 municipalities set their own parking requirements within their municipal zoning ordinance, usually based on national standards from the Institute of Transportation Engineers and/or the Urban Land Institute. These requirements are detailed in a separately published Appendix titled Municipal Parking Standards Inventory. These standards often assume that all trips will be made by car and that destinations will be isolated and single use in character. The standards fail to recognize the different types of parking provisions that may be desirable or cost appropriate for different contexts, such as downtowns, suburban shopping districts, or rural areas. Municipal parking ordinances therefore often result in too much parking or requirements that are not flexible for mixed-use settings. These requirements have a strong influence on the built and natural environment and how the community grows or redevelops. The report also examines ways to reduce parking demand and improve parking supply where appropriate or necessary through parking management strategies, such as pricing, car-sharing, and shared parking, among others. Different types of parking are examined, from surface parking to underground parking to bicycle parking, along with innovative design treatments. The report also examines the environmental impacts of parking with a focus on the critical issue of stormwater. Lastly, the relationship between parking and transit is considered, particularly park-and-rides and transitoriented development. This report provides planners, local leadership, and citizens with information about best practices for designing, managing, and regulating parking

Capital Collaboration: An In-Depth Look at the Community Investment System in Massachusetts Working Cities

This publication presents the work of the Capital & Collaboration Initiative, a cross-sector effort designed to increase the scale, efficiency and impact of investments in Massachusetts cities of more than 35,000 people (excluding Boston), characterized by below-median family income and above-average poverty rates, which have been termed "Working Cities" by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.In 2013, the Boston Fed launched the Working Cities Challenge, a competition designed to incentivize cross-sector leadership and collaboration to benefit low- and moderate-income residents in these cities.In 2015, the Fed launched Capital & Collaboration as a companion process, examining the delivery of capital for downtown revitalization, small business, and scattered-site residential development. The Fed convened a working group of stakeholders from institutions that provide capital and services to communities in the Working Cities. It then invited Kresge Foundation Senior Fellow Robin Hacke and Katie Grace of the Initiative for Responsible Development to work with these parties to examine the community investment system, drawing on a capital-absorption framework Hacke and Grace had developed and have applied in cities across the country